I have been noticing quite a bit of increasing chatter lately around the web from some Buddhists pushing a more "authentic" Indo-Buddhist tradition, which include the use of the word Aryan and the return of using the Swastika as a Buddhist symbol. It is no secret that these two concepts have their roots in deep ancient Indo-Hindu-Buddhist(among others) teachings, in an obviously extremely different context than what was adapted by the fascists in Europe after WW1, and continues to thrive here in the west today in the form of neo-nazis, skinheads and white power movements.
I'm not going to get into the philosophical arguments for "recapturing" these two authentic Buddhist symbols, more than to say JUST FUCKING STOP IT. Let the neo-Nazi's have it, let the right wing nut jobs have it, let it die. They are too far embedded into the conscience of this world as symbols of hate, violence and genocide to return them to some grand symbol of peace and understanding. Who cares about them, we can comes up with a different word and a different symbol, we don't need to dig up this ugly shit up to effectively transmit the teachings of any spirituality or religion. YAY for Hitler, he effectively destroyed two Buddhists traditions in the eyes of the world....LET IT THE FUCK GO.
17 comments:
Charles Manson was a Buddhist?
Or perhaps The Zennist is a Nazi?
What an insensitive prick he is, who the fuck does he think he is bringing these symbols of hate into some great Buddhist tradition. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with that dude?
I have a Hindu swastika on my door. (Both my partner and my landlord are Hindus)
"They are too far embedded into the conscience of this world as symbols of hate, violence and genocide to return them to some grand symbol of peace and understanding."
This is not the case outside America and Europe.
Aryans are deemed as scholars in India.
Maybe it's time to reclaim these things and connect them to their original context. Setting the record straight as it were. Not allowing distortions to stand. Fixing the warped image some people have of Buddhism. etc.
Or does that only apply when one can get on television?
I agree with you. He's sooo attached to Buddhism. That's the funny thing. His attachement is to the practice itself. He's the prime example of someone who should throw away all the relgions trappings he's built up around himself. Dharmageezers....geez.
As for the symbols: Yeah Hitler took and he can keep them in whatever hell realm he's currently in habiting. With karma like his I'm sure he's getting butt raped by a demon with 6 foot penis about now.
Symbols are dumb. they are just more things we should pile on the dust heap then sweep it away.
Really NellaLou? Seriously you don't even have the smallest amount of empathy for what a Jewish person feels when they see a Swastika or here the word Aryan?
I did see you agreeing with the Zennist in our little twitter thing too. Did you even read some of the insensitive things he wrote?
And I didn't ask to be on TV....why does that bother you so much?
Kyle
1.By placing the symbols in their original context they lose their power for the fascists and become invalid, even contradictory, as ideological rallying points. Your accusation of insensitivity on my part is rather shallow. If I were to mention such things they would be in a specific context. Jewish people are certainly smart enough to distinguish that context. They are not babies we have to shield another aspect of reality from. That's so fucking patronizing. And the Jewish people have been dealing with the trauma of the past as a group and individually for a lot longer than you or I have even considered it.
2.I agreed with 1 point he made because it had some validity. To generalize from a specific is a fallacy. If I disagree with the Zennist I say so on his blog. And have more than once.
3.Most of your trip seems to be about sensationalism and attention-whoring. Why does it bug you if someone points that out?
I have to say, as a Jewsih American I think it is disturbing to think that everyone is ready to just move past the horror of what happened and start using the Swastika while there are so many other 'white power' groups using it as a symbol of hate.
I am Sorry, this ain't worth losing my temper over. I'm not looking for a fight, and I think your view point has merit as mine does. I think you under estimate the power those symbols and words have, especially here in America. My grandfather was Jewish, so you'll have to excuse me for being a bit bias about this.
eh. symbols shmybols. I'm more pissed that Hitler ruined the Charlie Chaplin 'stache FOREVER.
Though I do have to agree with Kyle in the sense that I'd be terrified to put up a Buddhist "swastika" on my car or something. I'd give it 2 weeks before my windows were smashed out. Because we(Americans) love to combat hate with hate, especially when we're ignorant about what it is that we "hate". I don't know if those things could ever make a peaceful return. Hitler is going to be history's go-to evilist man of all time for many, many years to come. I just don't know how people would be able to separate him(and what he represented) from the symbols that he ruined.
I have a few friends (and family) that practice Asatru, and that symbol is prevelant in the Northern European cultures as well. They get shit for it all the time, and have to explain what it is and why they use it (though they can get away with it because they are friggin huge). However, there are also plenty of white supremesist types that have used Asatru to further their Aryan/neo-nazi causes, and so then they have to separate themselves from those as well. Seems like an awful lot of shit to go through for a symbol/character that isn't THAT central to their belief. But if that's a battle they want to fight, so be it.
I'm fine with educating people on it's roots as it pertains to Buddhism and such when asked, but it's not a cause I really want to pick up.
There are like 50 different cultures that have used that symbol in the past, it's very common. Symbols and words gain/loose power as time goes on, and take on different meanings according to who uses/steals them and spreads them the farthest. I don't know that the swastika will ever be seen as anything other than a symbol for hate in the West. It's too deeply ingrained in the minds of the populous. I see no need to reclaim them, especially when it will probably only result in more suffering if we attempt to.
Cheers.
How do these artifacts function? Is there some way they help us turn us back toward practicing the dharma, realizing it rather than talking about it?
My kasa (Korean for rakusu)is old enough that it has a small Buddhist swastika sewn in, behind the neck. Some years ago, the Kwan Um school dropped it from the kasas they issue to preceptors.
I assume the reason for this has to do with misunderstandings. Even in this discussion, I am noticing that there is no distinction being made between the Buddhist traditional swastika and the symbol used by the Third Reich.
The fact that it is so easily confused with the Nazi symbol speaks to how disconnected it is from european or American tradition, as opposed to Chinese culture (where the Buddhist swastika is still in use). Perhaps this symbol does not speak to most of us here; plus it visually 'rhymes' with something we don't like. (Sort of like the word "niggardly" -- a good word many of us are too uncomfortable to use, even accurately.)
Do we need it? Probably not. Is it a distraction? Probably. I haven't switched kasas, but I have no plans to add Buddhist swastikas to my garage zendo. But does that mean we erase Buddhism's history, tailoring it to suit our opinions, or assailing those who find our ancestry interesting? I don't know about that.
I come back to function: what helps us to practice and realize the dharma? And why do that?
@Adam - Yes, it is easily misunderstood as a symbol, I just don't think people are ready to easily accept its use in the context it was meant to be, at least not in the West. Definitly we should try to educate and inform, but I agree, if we force it out there now it would just confuse people.
@Algernon - I completely agree, I think it is very important to keep the historical context in our knowledge and understand. I most definitly don't think we should eradicate either of these things, but as I see it now, with the misunderstanding about Buddhism already, just putting them out there is only asking for more misunderstandings. If someone feels helped by using these things in their practice, then great, but I wouldn't expect most in the West to embrace the use of either anytime soon.
I look at it in these terms: try to explain to someone who doesn't have any frame of reference beyond driving in the US, for example, that a large, red, octagonal sign without writing suggests anything other than STOP. I tend to agree with Adam on this issue in the sense words/symbols represent a community's feelings and ideas about said words/etc (regardless of etymologist's insistence). Not everyone, especially not I, am likely to pause unless I'm exercising some discipline beyond what I normally consider (when I consider) right effort. Why should I expect more from anyone else?
@Algernon you're right about the Chinese still using the swastika. Next Sunday Ill take a picture of the altar in the meditation hall it's got swastikas all over it. The other Chinese temple I've visited in Houston all have the same symbols in them.
I agree, I also think those that live outside the US are rather naive about the racial tensions that occur here. Here are the hate crime stats from 2008.
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2008/data/table_01.html
Google 'synagogue spray painted with swastika' and then someone tell me their isn't still a strong connection of hate with the swastika.
Those who are ruled by Aryans are guided by a holy light.
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